Officials want to take the wrecking ball to one Brooke County problem

Updated: Tuesday, April 22 2014, 06:09 PM EDT

WTOV9.comBROOKE COUNTY, Ohio -- Officials in Brooke County want to take the wrecking ball to one problem. There are hundreds of dilapidated buildings in the county.The solution is to tear down old houses and businesses that are in disrepair. The problem is with the people who own them who don’t abide by notices set forth by the county’s Dilapidated Building Committee."We started in the late fall and through the winter targeting areas in Brooke County for dilapidated properties and structures,” committee member Richard Ferguson said.“Right now we've begun sending out complaints to the individuals that have violated this ordinance in Brooke County."More than 100 of these complaints have been sent out to property owners, and there's more where they came from. Brooke County has more than a few properties that are not safe. That's why the committee formed last fall -- to get rid of those properties. The plan is simple. Property owners of these buildings get a complaint from the committee. If owners don't plan on using the buildings, they're ordered to get it torn down. If they don't tear it down, the law steps in.“That complaint is sent to our committee, to the (County) Commission, and to the Brooke County Sherriff’s office, and the next move in this is a summons for that person to show up at the Magistrate’s Court, and then after that it will be a process of a person being fined.”The committee also sends complaints out to homeowners who have garbage around their homes. So far, eight property owners with dilapidated homes have had their property torn down.There's hundreds more to go.The committee just got a $22,000 grant approved from county commissioners to help property owners who are sick or old with the $4,000 cost that goes into getting a property torn down.

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